Archive for the ‘Animals’ Category

Here is the third picture framed together with the polar bear and frog.

I apologize for the glare in this photo. This picture is in the top of the frame, which is hung a little high on my wall. Seeing how I was too lazy to get a chair to better the lighting, you’re stuck with this.

Looking at the date on this photo I am blown away. I can’t believe in just a few short months it will have been a year since I have drawn this. So much has happened this year that it seems nearly impossible for it to have gone so quickly. This photo was drawn from a phone company calendar that was given to me. Before you get the idea I actually have family and friends lame enough to gift a free calendar I’ll set the record straight. I went to a woman’s conference in February of last year, which is actually where I drew the polar bear. I received a lot of attention over the polar bear drawing and many inquiries as to what I was doing with my art. Sadly, I replied that I wasn’t doing much with my art other than selfishly keeping it to myself. I was also asked if I could draw a few photos for people, but none of these really followed through to the end.

One woman at the conference said she had a calendar with amazing photos of animals and she would love to see me draw a few of them. I borrowed the calendar, snapped a few photos of the pages and returned it. The owl is the only thing I have drawn from it.

The woman’s retreat I went to consisted of an older generation. I myself am in my mid-twenties and was in the minority of ‘younger’ girls who attended. There is something special and magical about mixing generations. A lot of people in my generation and younger will often shutoff wisdom from their elders, believing they can do it better themselves; learning all they think they need to know from observation. I am more of the mind if we don’t learn from history it will repeat itself! This is true on a large scale as well as a small scale. There is much to learn from those who have come before us. Though owls are considered to be wise, I personally have never heard anything from one that I would consider to be good advice. True wisdom is in the people who have already experienced what you are probably going through.

Yesterday’s post was about the fur of a polar bear and how it can be very difficult to sketch something so detailed. I find some of the best ways to stretch my brain is draw something completely opposite from the last entry. As an example, I drew this frog shortly before the polar bear.

There were a few projects in between, but it’s important to broaden your choice of subject. This picture is one of the three I have in a frame together. The third is also an animal, but has a very different texture to it. I liked the just-after-a-swim-fur texture to the polar bear and thought the frogs slippery smooth texture was a nice contrast to it. The frog was of course much easier to draw when compared with the polar bear. Though I totally copped out on the leaf I really enjoy the detailing in the frog, especially his eye and the area surrounding it.

This is probably my favorite picture to date. It was just drawn barely under a year ago. I have it framed with three other pictures of animals. It was from a photo that I ripped out of a National Geographic and then didn’t dare touch for the longest time due the complicated fur.

I do that a lot actually. Rip out pictures I like from magazines with the intention of sketching them. There are quite a few photos never make it into my book in pencil form. I’m glad I eventually did this one. Polar bears have a pretty special meaning to me. Not a meaning I could ever express on this blog, as I would probably sound like an idiot to most of the people out there. Those who know me well and know that certain side of me will understand this and probably just smile.

Fur is one of the hardest things to draw. Hair in general is pretty rough. I usually get lazy about 2/3 of the way through. You can see a bit of that in the center of this polar bear’s chest. His right paw is also isn’t the greatest. The problem is you have to be patient… I’m not so much. I get an idea in my head and I want to do it right now!! I get excited about seeing it through and can’t stop to make sure the particulars are in order. I have gotten a lot better with this over the years, but patience is still something I struggle with to a certain degree.

Art has actually been a great way to gain more patience. Purposefully choosing difficult pictures, such as a person with a large hair style, an elderly man with many wrinkles, or an animal can be really challenging for your talents as well as for your patience. The end result is always worth it if you properly see it through.